The World
History Bek: My understanding is that WWII went off pretty much as it did here, except for the addition of a bunch of weirdos in tights on all sides. The Nazis made extensive use of ‘Theme Operatives’ (translated from German), and that was a weakness. The Allies also used ‘Super heroes’ but relied more heavily on conventional weapons and soldiers, using superheroes as Morale Builders and counter-agents to the ‘Theme Operatives’. The extensive use of ‘Theme Operatives’ in terror operations had a very bad long term effect on the Theme Operatives’ morale and psychology. After the war, many became career criminals and professional terrorists. After the war, the Cold War went down pretty much as it did here, with more or less the same outcome. However, the fall of the Soviet Union happened after COSMOS (the Soviet Space Agency) had successfully put an orbital manufacturing platform, which served as the linchpin for Russia’s return to stability and power. With orbital goods as a source of income, The Commonwealth of Independent States is again the most powerful and influential political and economic player in Eastern Europe and Asia. Outer Space A few thoughts about things in Outer Space 1. Aliens It is now held that, contrary to the popular view, there has never been an actual invasion attempt by extraterrestrial intelligences. Given Sol System’s remote and isolate position among the stars and our paltry resources (I mean, two gas giants worth mentioning, a single asteroid belt and ONE measly living world? Please!), it is far more likely that the extraterrestrial incursions were more along the lines of being Interstellar Viking raids, probably conducted by convoys looking to restock their larders. “Martians” The only alien race that even appears to have attempted an prolonged enforced presence on Earth was the unnamed (to us at least) race of molluskoids that were behind the Southern England (1896), Grover’s Corners, New Jersey (1937) and Los Angeles (1964) invasions. [ H.G. Wells War of the Worlds, the radio broadcast and the movie ] While the apparent failures of these incursions was blamed on the aliens’ lack of preparedness for terrestrial micro-organisms, and later on varying levels of industrial pollution that fouled up the invaders anti-pathogen measures, there is a new theory now. It is believed that the ‘invaders’ might not have been the actual face of the intruding extra-terrestrials, but rather merely genetically engineered ‘Janissaries’, who had ‘run out of their warranty’. Given the 30+ year cycle, the expected return of the aliens was a source of considerable tension during the 1990’s, and Astronomers are still watching the estimated paths of approach to Earth with care. See “Mars”, below. Grays & Greens Besides the molluskoids, there are two confirmed Alien races, of which, only one is truly Alien. The ‘Grays’ and the ‘Greens’. The Alien autopsy performed in Roswell N.M. uncovered that the ‘Gray’ had no reproductive organs. Subsequent genetic analysis of samples left in storage from the autopsy reveal that the ‘Gray’ was actually a 99.87% match for a terrestrial human being (male, probably Hispanic, Blood type O Negative, 89% possibility of being allergic to penicillin). It is currently believed that the ‘Grays’ are Earth humans who are ‘abducted’ by UFOs and surgically altered into that form, possibly to act as menial laborers. It is believed that the anal probes conducted in UFO abductions are tests to see how compatible that person would be to the transformation process. Why a star-faring race would resort to anything as crude as slavery is unknown. The ‘Greens’ are a race of humanoid para-reptiles who appear to be somehow connected to the ‘Gray’s’. Little is known about the Greens, though it is believed that they may be behind the mysterious cattle mutilations, and legends of the ‘Chupacabra’, the ‘Jersey Devil’, and possibly ‘Spring Heeled Jack’. Mythos Or more specifically, Cthulhu Mythos. Although definitely alien, beings of this type are not merely space travelers, but also dimension and (possibly) time travelers. They may live in and employ physical laws different from those in this universe. As such, they are described under entities and supernatural creatures, rather than being listed with the comparatively mundane extra-terrestrials. 2. Area 51 Yes, there are alien vehicles and other artifacts being held at Area 51. Unfortunately, we have absolutely NO idea of how this stuff works. We can’t follow their design philosophy, and reverse engineering from recovered alien artifacts is impossible. We can’t power it, the stuff appears to be cast in large single pieces that defy X-ray, sonogram and MRI analysis, and on the rare occasions when the stuff does get powered up, it tends to blow the lab apart. 3. The Tesla Matrix In 1944 and 1945, the Nazis sent five spectacular terror raids against the American Atlantic seaboard, including the infamous ‘Flying Swastika.’ However, given the incredible cost of mounting these attacks against the minuscule amount of actual damage and the reverse effect on American civilian morale, the terror raids are regarded as unmitigated failures. While three of these attacks were foiled by American ‘Home Front’ superheroes, two (including the Flying Swastika) were brought down by the Tesla ‘Electric Ray’ (actually a form of Particle Accelerator). Though the ‘Electric Ray’ was very effective against the low-flying, slow moving, heavily armored terror weapons, logistical problems made it worthless as an anti-ballistic missile measure, and the Electric Ray was almost forgotten in the ICBM Era. But, in the 1980’s, the Challenger disaster, along with other difficulties in the Space Program inspired MIT students to study the plans for the ‘Electric Ray’. In so doing, the MIT team deciphered Nichola Tesla’s secret for manipulating interlacing electromagnetic fields to create cohesive, low-energy cost force fields. While ‘Popular Science’ predictions of force field protected cities and personal force fields are overly optimistic, mastery of the Tesla Matrix has given birth to several space applications: The Trebuchet This linear accelerator ‘catapult’ replaces the First Stage on the old Titan class rocket boosters. It is safer, cheaper and more reliable than the old rockets. The Ion Thruster The Second Stage of the old rocket boosters is replaced by a Shuttle-like ‘reusable rocket’ which also acts as the ‘sled’ for the Trebuchet. The ‘Sabot’, as it’s called, uses a form of Ionic Thrust, rather than the old Liquid Oxygen/Hydrogen combustion used by the Titans. The Ionic Thrust engine is smaller, lighter and more powerful than the old engines, and the fuel used is safer, cheaper, non-combustible and doesn’t require refrigerated storage. The Corona Shield The ablative heat shields used by the old space shuttles were expensive and unreliable. The Tesla Matrix can be used to create a short-lived (25 minute) force field that prevents both the friction and intense pressure that causes re-entry heat-up. 4. Current Space projects Space Telescopes There's a "Hubble-Two" mentioned in The More, the Merrier: Part A. Orbital manufacturing: There are currently three orbital manufacturing platforms up and working, two of which are pharmaceutical; The third produces perfect ball bearings and ultra-thin silicon wafers. Lunar Bases The bubble-like modules of Armstrong and Gagarin moon bases are images of great pride to Americans and Russians alike. Is Armstrong base either New Huston or the one Dr. Diabolik built, or are they all one and the same? -Lulou It's not Dr. Diabolik's. That one was destroyed by inexcusable clumsiness on the part of the invaders. "New Houston" and "Armstrong Base" could be the same, however. Only use in a canon story will tell. Space Stations Freedom (NASA), Kirov (COSMOS) and Olympia (ESA) are spidery scientific experimentation platforms that also serve as construction bases for other orbital projects Skyhook The ‘Orbital Elevator’ is a theoretical possibility, but there have been a series of political, financial, logistical, and technical difficulties that have made its construction in the near future unlikely. Mars While there still hasn’t been a Manned Landing, all three Space Agencies have landed sophisticated robotic probes on the surface. While there is no indigenous life, and no ‘ruins’, the probes have found signs of construction that are believed to be the remains of the launching platforms for earlier ‘invasion’ attempts. Mars is currently being kept under surveillance to make sure that it isn’t used as the jumping off point for another invasion. On August 27, 2003, Mars will make its closest approach to earth in 60,000 years (NASA article). Earth has been gearing up with a variety of launches (including a manned launch?). Simultaneously, defense forces have been preparing for another incursion by the invading forces based on Mars, and know to the public as “Martians” (see aliens, above). Saint George A proposed anti-asteroid missile launching platform that is a current political hot potato. Anti-Gravity Antigravity is alive and well in the Whateleyverse, but for some reason it's way too clumsy to deploy except in applications like Syndicate or MCO dropships. Around half of the volume of the Syndicate dropships used for the Halloween attack was dedicated to the anti-grav coils. Various devisors also make anti-grav stuff like Mrs. Cantrel's floating chair (and possibly Belphegor's floating chair), but those are devises. Anti-grav isn't ready for consumer applications. Category:The Universe Category:Cthulhu Mythos